What have you opened this week?

[Tom Archer]

Churchill Agua Alta 87

Last drunk just over ten years ago, since when my minimum drinking age has gone back from 21 years to 24 years.

Indecently young before, still youthful now, but a well balanced and very agreeable quaffer. 6-8

[Glenn E.]

For the Sammamish Port Club (in order of tasting):

1991 Vesuvio
1997 Vesuvio
1994 Vesuvio
2000 Vesuvio
2007 Vesuvio
2003 Vesuvio

Quinta da Romaneira 40 Year Old Tawny Port (new blend)
S. Leonardo 40 year Old Tawny Port

The 1994 and 2003 showed a very strong familial resemblance, and perhaps not coincidentally were the two favorites. (We didn't actually vote, so I can't award WOTN.) The 1997 was a little off, but not in any way that anyone could describe, and with the tasting being double blind for everyone but me no one (except Vic) was entirely sure that something was wrong. Several people thought that the 2003 was a 2011. I got the order approximately correct, though swapping the 1994 to 4th and putting the 2000 3rd might have been better. I did consider that, but thought that the 2000 would taste younger. It did, but the 1994 was still better enough that the 2000 might have showed better by being before it.

My scores, in order, were 91-91-95-93-93-94. I was reasonably mid-pack on all Ports, and as I recall scored identically to Stewart.

[Eric Ifune]

1977 Taylors. A decent bottle, but not great.

[Andy Velebil]

1977 Taylors. A decent bottle, but not great.

Drats, the curse of this vintage sucks.

[Tom Archer]

Drats, the curse of this vintage sucks.

Last December's 77@40 event in London showed a much more dependable lineup than seen previously, with no corked bottles and little evidence of other defects.

The 77's are growing up at last!

[Andy Velebil]

Drats, the curse of this vintage sucks.

Last December's 77@40 event in London showed a much more dependable lineup than seen previously, with no corked bottles and little evidence of other defects.

The 77's are growing up at last!

Bad bottles/corks have nothing to do with growing up.

[Tom Archer]

Bad bottles/corks have nothing to do with growing up.

I'm increasingly certain that that is not the case.

A couple of years ago I arrived at the hypothesis that corked wines recover once the cork is fully saturated - i.e. that TCA is only stable in the cork, and is not stable in the body of the wine. Everything I have observed since then leads me to believe that hypothesis is correct, and that as port approaches it's 40th year, when full cork saturation occurs, the incidence of corked bottles drops away to virtually zero.

I am also turning my attention to the evolution of other wine faults and am monitoring some stashes that are known to be badly affected. Early days yet, but wines that have a reputation for slight volatility may have some ability to either subdue or mask the problem as they age. It's a work in progress..

[Eric Ifune]

San Leonardo 30 year old.

[Eric Menchen]

1994 Quinta do Vesuvio VP
1996 Quinta do Noval Nacional VP
2011 Viera de Sousa VP (provided by Glenn)

(1934) Rocha Very Old Dry White (provided by Glenn)
1937 Kopke Colheita
1952 Kopke Colheita (provided by Tom Des Brisay)
1948 Suarez VP
1960 Quinta do Noval

[Alan McDonald]

Opened last week, but 7 days to drink them. Four Rubies. From last to first preference were Burmester, Cruz (Signature Reserve) and the back label says to drink with a peppered steak. Query that one, but anybody tried a Ruby with a steak? If not I will give it a go and report back. I much prefer an aged Baga. Then Calem's Velhotes and Barros.

Four bottles a week is the normal consumption of Port for my wife and myself, and that is almost always, but not quite, Ruby port. As we have become older we are not so keen on VP. When we were young, and could not afford it, we preferred VP. We only drink alcohol when we are eating, apart from a small nightcap for me, and obviously we follow the British tradition of cheese and biscuits, plus lots of butter, with port. As an aside has anyone tried the butter test? Take a large piece of a good butter, put it under your tongue, and drink port through it. I would welcome your experiences. I think it really tries out the quality of a port. I would not be surprised if nobody on this forum agrees with me, but the rare visitors we have and who claim to know nothing go along with my idea.

We also have fresh and dried fruits, paté and nuts. Sometimes we also have little nibbles of something my wife decides to make. These could be anything from little sweet or savoury tartlets to pieces of seafood. Taking all this into account the order of preference was as stated. I think a trial over a week is sufficient comparison. The Burmester was particularly watery, lacking any body at all. The Calem and Barros were as we have come to expect, and these are currently our normal everyday drinking. The Cruz was so-so. All cost between €5 and €6.

[Andy Velebil]

Opened last week, but 7 days to drink them. Four Rubies. From last to first preference were Burmester, Cruz (Signature Reserve) and the back label says to drink with a peppered steak. Query that one, but anybody tried a Ruby with a steak? If not I will give it a go and report back. I much prefer an aged Baga. Then Calem's Velhotes and Barros.

Four bottles a week is the normal consumption of Port for my wife and myself, and that is almost always, but not quite, Ruby port. As we have become older we are not so keen on VP. When we were young, and could not afford it, we preferred VP. We only drink alcohol when we are eating, apart from a small nightcap for me, and obviously we follow the British tradition of cheese and biscuits, plus lots of butter, with port. As an aside has anyone tried the butter test? Take a large piece of a good butter, put it under your tongue, and drink port through it. I would welcome your experiences. I think it really tries out the quality of a port. I would not be surprised if nobody on this forum agrees with me, but the rare visitors we have and who claim to know nothing go along with my idea.

We also have fresh and dried fruits, paté and nuts. Sometimes we also have little nibbles of something my wife decides to make. These could be anything from little sweet or savoury tartlets to pieces of seafood. Taking all this into account the order of preference was as stated. I think a trial over a week is sufficient comparison. The Burmester was particularly watery, lacking any body at all. The Calem and Barros were as we have come to expect, and these are currently our normal everyday drinking. The Cruz was so-so. All cost between €5 and €6.

I do like a young VP, LBV or good Ruby with a steak. I think it goes quite well. I wouldn’t go heavy on the pepper though. I usually only use sea salt on my steaks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Glenn E.]

Query that one, but anybody tried a Ruby with a steak?

Yes, for me that's a "classic" pairing. I'm generally using an LBV or maybe an SQVP, but the principle is the same.

I find that a drier style of ruby port goes better with food, even though when I'm drinking Port alone I prefer a sweeter style like Graham's, Fonseca, or Vesuvio.

I agree with Andy about the pepper - some for seasoning is fine, but a "pepper steak" is probably too far. Black pepper can get pretty spicy if you use enough of it, and I find that spicy food doesn't pair well with Port. Keep the spice level down to where it's a seasoning, not a feature, and you should be okay.

[Mike J. W.]

1995 Ferreira VP. Decanted 11 hours. Very dark red. Nice medium finish, but with a little heat on the initial sips. I think it still needs to open up a little. I'll see how it is tonight.

[Tom Archer]

Recent home decants:

Fonseca 1960

From a 21 bottle stash of BBR bottled 1960 ports bought a couple of years ago. Don't know where they've been over the years but all are fabulously young wines. This one has the classic rich Fonseca spiciness - one might easily guess it to be F77 rather than F60 - even younger perhaps.. 9-9

Graham 1991

1991 really doesn't reassure me as a vintage. This wine has the classic Graham signature, but also the unattractive earthiness that keeps cropping up in '91s that I first noticed in the Noval (and have also noticed in N97) It's a worrying characteristic because it has no obvious precedence prior to '91. I don't know if it's transient, or what causes it. 2-3 (in hope..)

Morgan 1977

My third encounter with this wine, the first two leaving me generally unimpressed. Same again, on day one - an awkward and unimpressive wine. Then on day two the makings of some composure - a juvenile richness with more than a little promise.

This now looks like a late developing ugly duckling - should have morphed into a swan years ago, but never too late.. It might yet blossom. With optimism, 4-6

[Frederick Blais]

Recent home decants:

Fonseca 1960

From a 21 bottle stash of BBR bottled 1960 ports bought a couple of years ago. Don't know where they've been over the years but all are fabulously young wines. This one has the classic rich Fonseca spiciness - one might easily guess it to be F77 rather than F60 - even younger perhaps.. 9-9

Had Warre's 1960 that blew me away this year. 1960 seems like a year that got totally overlook but produced some great Ports! Had De la Rosa(Sandeman) 1960 and it was also very good, but not as young looking as Warre's

[Tom Archer]

1960 seems like a year that got totally overlooked

Until now..

No postwar vintage has seen a greater rise in auction price over the past decade or so.

In 2005 I bought half a case of T60 for £45/btl inc. at auction - last week a pair of T60s, one with good level and the other VTS - sold for nearly £190/btl inc.

[Mike J. W.]

Recent home decants:

Fonseca 1960

From a 21 bottle stash of BBR bottled 1960 ports bought a couple of years ago. Don't know where they've been over the years but all are fabulously young wines. This one has the classic rich Fonseca spiciness - one might easily guess it to be F77 rather than F60 - even younger perhaps.. 9-9

Had Warre's 1960 that blew me away this year. 1960 seems like a year that got totally overlook but produced some great Ports! Had De la Rosa(Sandeman) 1960 and it was also very good, but not as young looking as Warre's

I had a 1960 Graham's in the last year that was very good as well.

[Alan McDonald]

I do like a young VP, LBV or good Ruby with a steak. I think it goes quite well. I wouldn’t go heavy on the pepper though. I usually only use sea salt on my steaks.

I agree with Andy about the pepper - some for seasoning is fine, but a "pepper steak" is probably too far. Black pepper can get pretty spicy if you use enough of it, and I find that spicy food doesn't pair well with Port. Keep the spice level down to where it's a seasoning, not a feature, and you should be okay.

So what do you have to accompany the steak?

We do not ever use any pepper, nor salt or other seasoning for that matter. Steak (always fillet) is either grilled or dry fried - bottom heat to a flat pan as on a plate type BBQ. We have mushrooms, onions and chips (French fries in US?). In season we also have lots of fresh Asparagus or Corn on the Cob, both picked as late as possible before cooking. We decided to try it with a Ruby, but hicked at the last minute. The sweetness of Port with steak was just too much for the head to accept after decades of always choosing a dry red of sufficient quality to match the fillet without overpowering it.

I found a Burmester Extra Dry White last week, first time I have seen it (nor any other dry white for several years) and we will make another attempt, but have a decent bottle of red available in case we do not like the Port. Not so sure about the white with steak either. It will not look right. I will report back.

[Gerwin de Graaf]

1980 Smith Woodhouse VP

[Glenn E.]

I do like a young VP, LBV or good Ruby with a steak. I think it goes quite well. I wouldn’t go heavy on the pepper though. I usually only use sea salt on my steaks.

I agree with Andy about the pepper - some for seasoning is fine, but a "pepper steak" is probably too far. Black pepper can get pretty spicy if you use enough of it, and I find that spicy food doesn't pair well with Port. Keep the spice level down to where it's a seasoning, not a feature, and you should be okay.

So what do you have to accompany the steak?

A ruby, as you suggested. In my case usually an LBV from the drier side of the spectrum.

I've also found that a 10 year old white Port goes surprisingly well with a wide variety of food.